Suspenseful with fleshed out characters

Any additional comments?

The story of Edge takes place at the Edge of Reason Lodge in picturesque Alaska near Homer. Her Mel Bennett and her motley crew of trusted staff entertain a limited amount of guests with whale watching, hiking, kayaking and wildlife. New guests are arriving along with her recently divorced and estranged sister, along with her two teenage children. Life is about to get complicated for Mel and she does not handle complicated. Something else has come to her quiet little sanctuary and she will need to have her wits about her. The story is delivered in multiple perspectives and drew me right in.

Helmer kept us on our toes with twists, fear and a few near death scenes. She allowed the tension to build, weaving in the scenery, background information on Mel’s prior kidnapping and the remote setting only ramped up the suspense.

The romance felt genuine and had a nice mix of banter, humor and complications. There is heat, but it is fade to black and perfect for a larger audience.

Mia Chiromonte made me a little nervous at first, but once we left the darker beginning, her voice as Mel kicked in strong and I connected. While I was not overly pleased with Cache’s voice. She nailed Tom’s preening beautifully and the Russian accent of Sergei. My issue with Cache is one I have with female narrator’s capturing the male voice. It sounded horse, but eventually grew on me.

Helmer paints a three-D picture not only with the beautiful lodge, ocean and woods but also with her characters. She gave them depth and I can close my eyes and bring forth an image of each of them. The tale hooks you from the onset as we travel back to Mel’s abduction and with our time spent at the lodge. The author even weaved in facts about wildlife, fishing and nature in Alaska. I loved all of these little details.

Edge is the type of romantic suspense that stays with you and had more substance than your typical escape book placing it somewhere neared to a thriller or mystery novel.

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16 people found this helpful

Not at all what I was hoping for.

The summary of this book made it sound like it would be an action packed read. It had a very slow story and no twists or turns. Overall disappointing.

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11 people found this helpful

Alaskan adventure and romance

Quick summary
Amelia (Mel) Bennett was abducted by a cult when she was 12-years old. Her suffering was further exacerbated by the media. Cache Calder was the photographer for the article that exploited her story, creating an indelible image of her that no one's forgotten. It's 20 years later and he and his editor are off to Alaska for a follow up interview with the reclusive subject. Cache believes he has her consent...not.

What I enjoyed
Alaska is one of those places that is both fascinating and terrifying to me. This story elevates both my fascination and fear as Helmer does a great job of bringing to life the awesome beauty and the rawness of the state. It added to the suspense and the romance. Mel's story slowly unfolded throughout the story, which normally doesn't work for me but the setup of the prologue laid the foundation perfectly. Her romance with Cache seemed to develop a bit quickly but it took a hard hit later, forcing them to take a step back that made it even better.

The mystery and suspense was very well done. I honestly didn't figure out who was after Mel until it was revealed.

The narration
While the narrator enunciated and paced the story flawlessly, her tone wasn't the best for the suspenseful aspects. She was a bit too sweet and upbeat for the tense moments. Otherwise, she was fine.

The bottom line
I enjoyed this story, especially it's Alaskan setting. I'm looking forward to continuing the series.

(I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review)

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10 people found this helpful

Good idea but...

Sooo many holes and stupid mistakes by these people, it’s like a B-grade horror story. Really, who realizes someone has easy access to their home and doesn’t immediately secure it?! Who doesn’t arm everyone right away? Or lets a young girl walk around unescorted with a crazed killer around? I think a really good editor could have helped this be a great mystery romance.

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9 people found this helpful

Feminist grade: A

Really entertaining book! It's part a RomCom, part a romance thriller. It only has minor problematic things for which I cannot take off more than 5 points out of 100. The female characters are pretty darn strong women.

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7 people found this helpful

Gross gender stereo typing, absurd acts & outcomes

So let me count the ways this takes us back a century - where these things were still not healthy. No means yes is not erotic. Come here, go away is not foreplay. Who's the target? Even middle schoolers aren't into fairy tales. It is not ok to use Jesus' name as a swear word. Good writer in desperate need of higher standards.

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6 people found this helpful

Sexy Suspense

Cache is a photojournalist who has recently returned from the Middle East where he survived a suicide bombing that caused him the loss of two friends and a pretty serious leg injury. His editor informs him that they are going to the wilds of Alaska so that he can do a "where are they now" story about a girl whose photograph jump-started his career 20 years ago. Mel Bennet survived a horrendous kidnapping and attempted murder 20 years ago and after some years of self-destructive behavior and rehab, she has finally found a place she would like to call home. Living secluded in Alaska at a small lodge where no one knows that she is the famous victim. Cache and Mel experience a strong attraction to one another, but Cache knows that the moment Mel realizes who he is, their relationship will be doomed.

I found this to be a really engaging story. I had no problem connecting to the characters, and found myself more and more interested in some of the peripheral characters as the story continued. Mel has been through a lot, not only through the actual trauma she suffered, but also through the crazy media exposure she had to deal with in the aftermath. I was frustrated with her at times, because while her determination and stubbornness had helped her survive and gotten her to a much better place in her life, it was clear that the walls she put up were also keeping her from finding the connections and relationships that she deserved. Cache was an easy character to root for, even though it was tough knowing that he had information that was going to be hurtful to Mel. The chemistry between them was very hot, and I was really hoping that they would be able to open up to one another and find happiness together.

I loved the wilderness and survival aspects of this book. The location of the Edge almost felt like another character int eh story. The beauty and danger provided an interesting back drop for all the action in the story. There is a lot of suspense, and some action but what I enjoyed most was the relationships. Aside from the budding relationship between Cache and Mel, seeing Mel and her sister start to reconnect after a rough childhood was something I enjoyed a lot.

The one thing I struggled a little bit was with the choice of narrator. While she was very articulate, and I felt she would be great for a number of books, I didn't feel that she was the right voice for this one. She was a little too perky for some of the characters and subject matter, and I was aware at all times that I was being read to. I struggled with some of her male voices as well. The narration didn't affect my ability to enjoy this story, but it was hard to feel like the potential for this audiobook to be even better with just the right narrator. Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot and I would gladly read more by this author in the future. I would also recommend this to anyone looking for a good romantic suspense.

*a copy of this audiobook was provided in exchange for an honest review

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5 people found this helpful

Bad Decisions and Not so Great Narration

The story has a good premise but the lead female character makes some awful decisions. You were a prisoner for 10 months kidnapped by a cult that has scarred you for life, physically and emotionally. When you begin to see signs that someone is terrorizing you again you keep it to yourself? You don't tell your family, crew or guests that they could be in grave danger and just let them wonder around in the wilderness with a possible crazy person? The narration didn't help. Wrong voice for this book, narrator should be doing children's books, not a good fit for suspense.. It was tough to get through and I won't be continuing in the series.

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3 people found this helpful

Wanted to like this book

I wanted to like this book more, but little things made it impossible. It’s fine, easy read, romance, Alaskan wild, drama, etc. but nothing special. *Partial SPOILER- But my biggest issue was that the answer to the “mystery” was a character not introduced until they had been exposed. Seriously? Lame.

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3 people found this helpful

REALLY like this series.

I love that all the books in this series are stand alone, but also follow well in the series. They are believable and fun and ring of real life.

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3 people found this helpful